Ofcom To Allow Sponsorship Of Entire Channels

Ofcom is to allow advertisers to sponsor entire TV channels and radio stations for the first time, instead of just individual programmes.

Following a wide-ranging consultation conducted in February, the communications regulator now intends to amend the broadcasting code to expand sponsorship opportunities, enabling the sponsorship of any channel, as long as that channel only shows a limited amount of programmes where sponsorship restrictions already apply.

Current programme sponsorship restrictions include news and current affairs shows and certain products, such as alcohol or gambling brands sponsoring children’s programming. The change to the code will be subject to specific safeguards, such as preserving editorial independence and protecting under-18s.

Viewers must be made aware of the sponsorship arrangement and the sponsor’s credits must be separated from all other editorial and advertising content on the channel.

Credits for the channel sponsor must not appear in or around programmes that cannot be sponsored and credits should not suggest that these programmes are included in the sponsorship arrangement.

The sponsor’s presence on the channel should not be unduly prominent, and broadcasters will be unable to name channels after the sponsor.

The extending of sponsorship opportunities will be welcomed by broadcasters, who are set to lose advertising revenue when Ofcom announces the extent of the restrictions on junk food advertising next month (see Tighter Regulation Of HFSS Food And Drink Ads Is Needed).

Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk